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The injuries keep mounting for the Jazz.

We know about Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks. Neither of those two are close to returning from a broken finger and knee surgery, respectively. Power forward Derrick Favors will miss his third consecutive preseason game tonight against the Phoenix Suns, with IT Band Syndrome, an inflamation of the ligament running down the outside of the thigh. Shooting guard Rodney Hood — who had 17 points in Monday's win over the Clippers — is out with a sprained left hand.

Of all the injuries, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said Hood's is by far the most precautionary. But tonight against Phoenix, the Jazz will be missing three of their top four players, and four of arguably their top seven.

"We just want to do the best we can to get the guys healthy," Snyder said. "Seems like we've been doing this for awhile."

In Hood's place, Dante Exum will get the start at shooting guard, his second such assignment of the preseason, both against the Suns. Hood, Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and Rudy Gobert are expected to round out the lineup.

After three road games to start the preseason, the Jazz will play their remaining preseason games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Tonight, the Jazz are looking for a few things, beginning with continued development from Exum. Also, there's been progress from Diaw, who looked good in limited minutes on Monday against the Clippers. Gobert has been consistently good through the preseason, and looks to continue to improve offensively, especially catching the ball in traffic.

Johnson's also becoming a key development, as he's struggled thus far within the offense. He shot 3-8 against the Clippers, including 0-2 from 3-point range, scoring nine total points. He hasn't looked comfortable, turning the ball over a lot, and missing shots he normally doesn't.

"I just have to slow down," Johnson said. "I'm getting sped up a lot offensively, so I just have to get comfortable."

The feeling within the Jazz is that Johnson is a veteran, and he'll sooner or later turn into the Joe Johnson everyone knows. But with Hayward on the shelf and Burks unavailable, Johnson's development takes on an added importance.

— Tony Jones